[Terra]
William walked hurriedly in the secretarial office, holding the parchment that was almost higher than his head in both hands, and passed through the long and narrow corridor. There was a noisy sound coming from behind the private office of the Chief Steward of the Ministry of the Interior.
The red-haired middle-aged man stopped, his blue-green eyes were like the starry sky, and he looked at the guards guarding the door for help.
The guard's mechanical eyes swept over him.
"William, the hereditary secretary of the chief steward, has sent the request for an interview."
The shouting and cursing from inside the door stopped. "The application is approved. Welcome, the hereditary secretary of the general manager, William." The guard bowed and the door opened automatically.
"Come in!"
The panting Imperial Minister of the Interior was sitting in his gorgeous big chair, with the documents on the desk scattered to the floor. William glanced at him inconspicuously, and the little boy who usually served the nobles had been scared and hid.
"Your Excellency, how are you?"
Holding the pile of documents, William knelt down respectfully and lowered his head. Without the steward's order, he was not in a hurry to get up.
A sneer and moody voice sounded above his head.
"You're here to see the fun? Oh, dear, I see there's a little dirt on your sleeves. Is it the oil - the oil man or the filler?"
William shook his right hand. It had indeed been grabbed by someone before, but he was sure that there was no stain left.
"The Astra Militarum, sir," William said respectfully. "They wish to know the truth of this story so that they can determine the size of the army to be assembled."
The first to know that the "deceased" had returned were the Assassin's Court and the Inquisition. Since the Ministry of the Interior had close ties with these two departments, the Butler also learned of the news.
"Assemble the troops?!"
The man laughed in a sharp voice, "Are they planning to welcome him with a military parade, or are they going to try to fight a rock with an egg?"
William said nothing.
"My lord," William said glumly, "open the door and welcome the dead back."
"I would like to!"
The butler's tone changed and became gentle again, "I know what I did, William, and you also know what you did..."
"The deceased may not value these things," William continued, "This position requires us to do this."
The voice above him fell silent, leaving only the rubbing of paper. William heard the rapid breathing of a page boy somewhere in the huge room.
After a long time,
"I remember... there is a priest of the Dark Cult in your family?"
William nodded, "My uncle."
"You think I don't fucking know?! You're using connections to get your master's attention?! The Pope of the Underworld Cult even begged me for help back then!!! Now he's still cocky and making a nasty face at the Lords' Meeting every day!"
The ink pad hit William hard. William grunted but said nothing.
"It's no use! It's fucking useless!"
"Macragge—he went to Macragge. Those damned rebellious people in Macragge have been displeased with us for a long time!"
“You can try to apologize.”
Blood flowed from William's head. "The Ultramarines are not... reckless. We have time to find a scapegoat."
The Home Office Director was silent for a moment, then he became calm.
"It's useless," he said. "Even if I wanted to surrender, those psykers would drag me down with them. They are pure mad dogs now."
For the Star Talkers, Navigators, and Astronomical Torch Palace, the sword hanging over their heads is finally about to fall.
Even though they had never understood Pluto's true style.
William thought about it.
"Perhaps... as long as they prove their innocence, the deceased will not make things difficult for them."
The sudden silence, then the whispers, the crazy laughter, the dragging of chairs, the sound of footsteps,
"William, William," the butler said, "sometimes I really doubt whether you are the shame of your family. How could the William family produce such a retard? Do you want to believe that the biggest leader of the soulless people will forgive the psychic?"
The steward walked around William, stepping on the papers on the ground. William looked coldly at the footprints on the rescue documents of the three planets.
The butler looked up at the relief carved high on the wall behind his desk. The God Emperor and Hades occupied one end each. He said nothing.
"How can this be true?"
The steward began to talk to himself.
"Do gods really exist? Then why do they allow so much suffering and evil? We are standing at the feet of the Emperor of God. Can't He see all this? Since He has not punished us, does that mean He has forgiven us?"
William remained silent, his face calm.
The butler laughed.
"How can God exist? He is just something made up to trick the ignorant into suffering - something that pretends to be a god. Why should I be afraid of him?"
"Yes, yes," he clapped his hands, "it's just some trickery."
Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead. Finally, standing in front of the relief of the god, the steward stopped with a pale face.
The idol looked at him calmly.
"Sir," William suddenly said, "How should I respond to the Astra Militarum?"
"No reply," the butler said, his breath was weak, but his tone was firm, "Delay, we will delay whoever comes, start destroying the evidence now... Burn half, keep the other half to find a scapegoat, prepare a sedan chair, and ask the Minotaur Chapter to come with us. When the lunatic like the psyker comes looking for me, I have already confessed my sins in the secret room of the Hades Cathedral."
The tactic of procrastination is the most useful tactic in handling internal affairs, and the general manager is the master of this tactic.
"Remember to provoke them," the butler said, "release the patrol, lead the psyker to the archives... and then you know what to do."
——————
Sitting sideways on the throne, Hades silently stared at the son of Pluto standing guard in front of him.
He looked at Mingzi's majestic appearance, but could not connect him with the Mingzi who was spinning like a top in the sky a few days ago.
But the smell told him it was him.
Because it was too socially dead and embarrassing, Hades simply gave up the possibility of mentioning the "so-called" chapter tradition to Mingzi.
For the first time, he felt so regretful—regret why the Death Guard failed to stop the Hades.
To make an inappropriate analogy, if a child eats shit outside, it is also embarrassing for the adults.
In addition, Hades received many gifts prepared spontaneously by Mingzi in the past few days - he seemed to know where the funds for these gifts came from.
Most of the items here are food, some are books, and some are dried enemy heads...
We ate what we had and put the rest in the storage room.
The Ultramarines have already begun to mobilize, and it seems that after the meeting, they all agreed that going to Terra with Hades for a shot is a good option.
The interests involved are clear, and the personal connections are also very clear, so hesitation is a taboo.
Hades wanted to talk to Calgar again, but after learning that Guilliman was not dead, the Ultramarines Commander himself was not in a good condition recently - at least Hades saw that it would take him a long time to recover.
For a moment, countless cobalt blue warships left their posts, and the warriors fighting for order and glory put on their helmets. The blue ocean rolled up, surging to keep up with the footsteps of the dark trendsetters.
Hades also confirmed with Vorcus again and again that Mortarion did not need support for the time being, but Hades could start capturing the Eldar in advance.
No rush... Let him enter Terra first!
Because they were heading to the Great Whirlpool, the Hades went ahead and went to connect with Huron, the Star Claw, and Phaos in the Great Whirlpool.
After discussing with Kirkland and Boots, they all agreed that a show of force would be the best start when facing a man like Huron.
The diluted black tide rolled lazily, and Hades felt strange souls being brought onto the deck... It was indeed a bit heretical, but that didn't matter.
Compared to the turbidity in Vox's soul, this is already very pure.
“Here I come.”
With a humming sound, as if the power system had stopped working, the living room became dark, and a cold light flashed in the wolves' eyes.
Huron paused on the promenade,
"Why, you don't welcome us?"
He asked jokingly, but Blake, who was leading him, just glanced at him sideways.
"The group is poor, so this saves electricity."
This answer really choked Huron. He was sure that he was a little angry. He had seen arrogant mortal nobles and brainless space marines, but what the hell was this
Give him a warning
Huron sneered in his heart. He didn't think that the so-called Primarchs, the so-called gods, were worthy of praise. Those Space Marines who borrowed the title of Primarch seemed to be so arrogant
Angron simply disappeared, Guilliman was brought down by mortals, not to mention Magnus and Alpha who were hiding in the Warp... The Primarchs were nothing more than that.
The High Lords are just a bunch of fools who spend their days collecting taxes in their easy chairs, imagining that the taxes are growing out of the holds of their ships.
Huron sneered in his heart, but still felt his heartbeat quickening. Although he looked down on most people, including this damn Pluto who jumped out of a corner to show off, Huron knew that Pluto was protected by the Death Guard... It was not an exaggeration to call him the eldest son of the Death Guard.
And the Death Guard... are under the leadership of Mortarion.
If there was any hero that Huron admired, Mortarion would definitely be at the top of the list.
He personally confronted Terra, forcibly took over the Storm Star Region, put it into operation, and then conquered more subspace territories.
According to Huron, Mortarion is the true hero of mankind.
What a pity... Huron looked disdainfully at Hades who was standing guard at the door. Compared with the tough guys like the Death Guard, the son of Hades could be considered a misfortune for the family.
He did not believe that gods existed. Even if gods existed, they had nothing to do with him. He had lived for so long, but gods had never paid any attention to him.
Oh no,
Huron thought with some black humor that now the gods themselves had come to take care of him.
The door opened, cold air blew across his face, and the hall was pitch black. Huron paused, then stepped in without looking back.
Squeak—bang!
The door closed behind him, and Huron opened his eyes wide, trying to take in the massive being sitting on the throne.
It was all pitch black, and with a vague nausea, Huron couldn't see what Pluto looked like at all.
Instead, the red light in his left eye stared calmly at Huron.
Huron swallowed his saliva, suppressed the urge to vomit and the feeling of submission, and stood straight, even rudely, in front of Pluto.
"I heard that the Dark Cult doesn't allow kneeling,"
Huron forced a smile, and he hoped that the twitching corners of his mouth were a mocking smile.
Isn’t it just a show of force
"Lutf Huron," the being sitting lazily on the throne ignored his thoughts and said slowly, "The Black-Hearted King of the Great Whirlpool, I have heard of your name for a long time."
"Pluto - I have heard about your deeds since I was born. I am really curious whether the dead sculpture in the church will one day stand in front of me alive and speak."
Pluto paused for a moment, and then a slightly smiling voice sounded,
"That's fate... If it's fate, are you willing to come work for me?"
So direct
Huron was stunned for a moment, then began to think quickly.
He knew that he was called here to discuss something, otherwise Faos would have started a war with the Astral Claws long ago, but Huron estimated that he was just being taken in as a dog, just like Terra's face.
But... expressing their intentions so quickly... Huron licked the corners of his cracked lips. Do these conceited guys really think that everyone will obey them
Then he was not polite, pretending to be friendly, and what he would do in the future, Huron was already familiar with it,
"I would," said Huron, "but what is your intention?"
"What a coincidence," Hades said, "I don't know what you are thinking, Huron. Are you going to resist taxing Terra in the name of hunting down Phaos, and then lead the tax collection team sent by Terra to the mining planet of Phaos?"
Huron's smile froze. He felt annoyed and angry at being played with. Why—
Pluto's words interrupted his thoughts.
"While the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman benefits. Huron, you are a very good fisherman. When you come to my place, I will let Buzz talk to you. He also likes fishing."
"Would you mind making your point more plainly?" said Huron, coldly; "or do you take pleasure in humiliating people?"
"I want you to do things that are true, and your little hobby of fishing is also a fact. How can stating facts be considered humiliating, Huron? Or do you also feel that what you have done over the years... is not quite appropriate?"
Huron couldn't help but grit his teeth. Damn old thing, if he couldn't beat him...
But no matter how unwilling he was, Huron was not a brainless fool. He had long passed the days when Space Marines shouted "For the Emperor" and charged towards the battlefield.
"It's a helpless move," Huron whispered, his tone now like a barking dog, "We are caught between two equally powerful forces, so we have no choice but to do this... Why should we serve as dogs for those powerful people on Terra? To add a little more stability to their Simmons dreams? If I give these wasted resources, I can save more planets, and as for Faos..."
Huron's voice softened, as if he was giving in.
"My Lord, you know how greedy the sages are."
"That's true," Hades said thoughtfully, "but I don't think the wise men are as greedy as you, Huron... I'm afraid you ate a lot, didn't you?"
Under the extreme pressure, Huron suddenly laughed coldly.
"Sir, you want to spit us out? No wonder you didn't let the Star Claw go... I was wondering, given your size, you might have just let us go - the hole in your fishing net is so small? You didn't even let go of a small marginal fallen war group?"
"Of course," Huron smiled and raised his hands, making a helpless surrender, "We will personally give you our savings accumulated over the past few decades, so you don't need to rush us."
"You are too nervous," Hades said calmly, "Huron, the entire Five Hundred Worlds are my logistics. Except for the high lords who are very penny-pinching, I don't care about your private property—"
"Then why did you summon me? Just to humiliate me?"
Huron asked, laughing in anger, "You won't let us go, and you don't want money. If you want your life, you can come now!"
After hearing this, Hades sighed instead. The giant straightened up and looked at Huron.
"I won't let you go because of you."
Hades said as the darkness slowly dissipated, "Lutf Huron, Chapter Master of the Star Claws, who single-handedly established his own sector of influence within the two major forces, I have seen your ambition and ability, and now I formally extend an invitation to you. You have a chance to step onto a bigger stage."
"But only if—"
Hades stopped and said nothing. He stared at Huron silently until Huron began to sweat and asked him through gritted teeth what it was.
"What do you think it is?"
Hades asked back, "Huron, I'll give you a hint. I'm going to Terra to seize power. Why do you think that is?"
For greater power? As a god, he naturally cannot stay at the feet of mortals, and naturally cannot look at the faces of those rubbish people. This is simply a great shame.
Huron thought of the answer almost immediately, but his pounding blood vessels told him that this answer was wrong. He gritted his teeth. Since Pluto wanted to recruit him but also wanted to punish him, it meant that he had done some things right that met Pluto's standards, but he had also done some things wrong that Pluto didn't want to see.
Huron thought back to his youth. He had hoped to become a ruler, not for anything else, but because he thought that he could manage better than those fat nobles, he could establish more stable star regions, and he could conquer more territory...
So…
"You want to revitalize the human race?"
Huron gritted his teeth and said that he was sure that he was not as skilled as the opponent and was completely suppressed. The opponent was beating him just to make sure he followed the opponent obediently.
But what was even more hateful was that, with just a few words... A bigger platform... Entering Terra... This almost struck Huron's soul. He had been trembling with fear for decades, wasn't it just for these...
"If that's the case, then Lutf Huron is willing to follow Hades."
Huron took a deep breath, knelt down and saluted.
"The premise is that I cannot cross the bottom line of humanity?"
Hades laughed.
He just likes talking to smart people.
"Buz," Hades said, showing a cunning smile, "notify the Phaos sages to lay down their weapons - there is no need to surround the Star Claw."
Hades stood up, walked over and pulled Huron up,
"No need to kneel,"
Hades said dimly, "Welcome. And, be prepared to work overtime."
(End of this chapter)